Paper Plane Squadron

Paper Plane Squadron
The small paper planes
First appearance	Paper Mario: The Origami King (2020)

The Paper Plane Squadron (also known as the Paper Airplane Squadron) is a fleet of paper planes appearing in Paper Mario: The Origami King. When Mario and Olivia take off into the sky with the Koopa Troop aboard Bowser's airship, the fleet appears, dispatched by King Olly to stop them from reaching Peach's Castle. The Koopa Troop, Bowser Jr., and Kamek engage the planes in a battle in the sky while Mario takes control of the airship's main cannon to shoot Bob-ombs at them.

A Collectible Treasure of the Paper Plane Squadron (No. 115) can be found inside Origami Castle.

Battle

The player takes control of a cannon, using either motion controls or the left analog stick to aim the cannon. There are several smaller paper planes which fly across the screen in different directions with several attempting to hit the airship.

Planes that fly directly to the cannon are more common, requiring one hit to destroy. Less commonly, planes will approach in a zigzag formation; these require two hits to destroy. A plane close to the airship creates a sound similar to a flying jet. Occasionally, Kamek or Bowser Jr. can be seen chasing after common planes, and a Koopa Paratroopa may also be seen being chased by two common planes; destroying those planes will result in the Koopa Paratroopa fully repairing the airship a few moments later.

The airship has five hearts of health to begin, and one heart is depleted if a paper plane crashes into the airship; sometimes there are hearts in parachutes which can be shot to regain some health. If all five hearts are depleted, it will result in a Game Over.

Some time into the fight, Kamek will notice a mysterious purple object just under the clouds, and goes off to investigate. Near the end of the fight, Bowser Jr. appears, believing the battle is over, only for Kamek to return, just as the object he was investigating is revealed: a giant purple paper plane, which takes several Bob-ombs to defeat. It will fly ahead of the airship, releasing many common planes, and will gradually approach the airship. When the giant paper plane is damaged enough, both Kamek and Bowser Jr. believe they have won, but the plane is about to crash straight into the airship, so Kamek, Bowser Jr., and Mario keep firing at the plane until it finally explodes. If the player fails to destroy the giant plane before it crashes, it will result in a Game Over, regardless of how much health the airship has.

With the Paper Plane Squadron defeated, the airship continues on its course. However, before it can begin its final approach to Peach's Castle, a much-larger paper plane collides into the airship on its port side, causing the airship to plunge from the sky and crash-land into Hotfoot Crater, just below the castle.

During the third phase of the final battle with King Olly, he can transform his arms into cannons and fire paper planes that are identical to the ones of the Paper Plane Squadron to attack Mario.

Profile

• Collectible Treasure No. 115: "A set of planes dispatched by King Olly to shoot down Bowser's airship. Show 'em who really rules the skies!"

Gallery

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  Bowser's Airship in a battle against the paper plane squadron

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  The giant purple plane appears

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  A giant paper plane slams into the airship

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  Musée Champignon Art Gallery No. 115: Battle in the Sky

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  Musée Champignon Art Gallery No. 118: Paper Airplane Squadron

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	カミヒコーキ部隊[?] Kami Hikōki Butai	Paper Airplane Unit
Dutch	Papieren luchteskader[?]	Paper air squadron
French	Escadrille de papier[?]	Paper squadron
German	Papierflugstaffel[?]	Paper Flying Squadron
Italian	Squadriglia di aeroplanini di carta[?]	Paper planes squad
Spanish	Escuadrón de aviones[?]	Aircraft squadron